ADR Scotland
As we start the new investment period, ADR Scotland has exciting plans for the year ahead, with a programme of strategic activities designed to strengthen data capabilities, collaboration and research that supports government priorities.
We will continue to support the Scottish Government’s Data for Research: Change Management Board as it reviews data access and data ingest processes. Alongside this, we have a number of exciting initiatives that will further strengthen Scotland’s data capabilities. We are working with Research Data Scotland to continue development of their metadata catalogue, helping researchers access the most relevant information on available data in Scotland. Another key priority will be the implementation of Effective Anonymisation for Scottish Government data within the Scottish National Safe Haven, which will simplify the data application process for researchers using controls such as SafePods, while maintaining strong and proportionate safeguards.
A significant focus will be flagship datasets. ADR Scotland plans to host a Data with Impact event, showcasing the potential of the Scottish Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) – University data to address important policy challenges. We also look forward to welcoming new studentships funded through the ADR UK PhD call and the fresh insights these projects will bring to policymakers.
Alongside ongoing data development activities, we will be generating impactful research insights across our five strategic research themes. These include outputs on nursing workforce planning, and health and mortality outcomes for problem drug users seeking treatment with and without justice experience. Within our Housing and Environment theme, we will progress collaborative research on the health impacts of improving home energy efficiency. This includes progressing work focused on energy consumption and health after the 2022 energy crisis and expanding our work using Edinburgh City Council SMART meter data to improve understanding of energy use, fuel poverty and related social outcomes.
We are also looking forward to launching new engagement initiatives, including our Nursing and Midwifery Population Data Research Community and the first pilot Data Impact Group on children and young people. Through these and other initiatives, ADR Scotland will continue to strengthen Scotland’s data ecosystem and maximise the impact of administrative data research for the public good.
